The Black British Business Awards (BBBAwards) is delighted to announce the launch of a unique tool that, for the first time, will give companies the ability to benchmark their D&I performance objectively, the D&I Index by HR DataHub.

The ground-breaking D&I Index has been launched by the tech for good firm in partnership with The Black British Business Awards and The Network of Networks (TNON), alongside a coalition of experts including the 30% Club, INvolve, Change the Race Ratio, hundo and Delta Alpha Psi. It will enable organisations across all sectors to collect and measure their D&I data, set meaningful targets, and implement changes that work to enable workplace inclusivity.

The innovative D&I Index is both unique and timely as the lack of comparable data available to companies has led to confusion and slow progress in meeting D&I targets. For instance, research conducted by HR DataHub in 2021 (200 large companies) showed that just a 1/3 of companies are taking a data-led approach to putting in place actions and monitoring progress. Tracking data from the start brings D&I to the top of the agenda, helps start conversations at a senior level and allows organisations to take accountability.

HR DataHub’s D&I Index, a technology-powered solution, will allow companies to objectively measure their progress and track real changes that matter across all levels within an organisation. Progress will be tracked across five key characteristics; gender, age, ethnicity, disability, and LGBTQ+, and will report across four fundamental measures; representation (by responsibility level), tenure, talent area and pay differentials.

The objectives for the D&I Index are five-fold:

1) To create a data led index for companies to benchmark their D&I performance
2) To integrate this index into that company’s D&I data journey
3) To implement a support framework to help companies progress through this journey
4) To help companies use data to identify areas for improvement and implement changes that work
5) To measurably improve the working lives of people from any background

The D&I Index is sponsored by industry leaders including Pennon Group, BAE Systems, Bright Horizons, Phoenix Group, Reward Gateway and M&S, who are paving the way for their sectors to leverage innovation to create inclusive, safe and inspiring workplaces.

David Whitfield, CEO and co-Founder of HR DataHub comments on the launch: “We are truly delighted to join forces with a coalition of exceptional and inspirational D&I thinkers to create the first ever D&I index which is 100% objective and data-led. In focusing only on the data, we have been able to remove all subjectivity and guesswork. With one simple data submission, we are proud to be able to help organisations across the UK to easily understand how their organisation is performing across five key characteristics and four key measures, so that they can then set meaningful targets through peer comparison and location baselining.”

Sophie Chandauka, Executive Founder and Chair of The Black British Business Awards said: “The ultimate aim for the D&I Index is to ensure that companies’ diverse talent will be appropriately represented at all levels. These insights will help business leaders to understand where faults lie, track progress and make changes for individuals on a personal level, and for the UK economy as a whole. The D&I Index will be critical in influencing industry leaders to measure what matters and leverage analytics to diagnose and resolve issues through targeted investment. This evidence based approach is critical to accelerating the development and evolution of workplace cultures that enable all talented employees to thrive. “